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l^overty and patnotism 
of the ]Veutral Grounds 



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OVERTY AND PATRIOTISM 
OF THE NEUTRAL GROUNDS 



A PAPER READ BEFORE THE WESTCHESTER 
COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY UPON THE 
ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-THIRD ANNI- 
VERSARY OF THE BATTLE OF WHITE PLAINS 



By J. C: Lf'HAMILTON 



, OCTOBER THE TWENTY-EIGHTH 
EIGHTEEN HUNDRED AND NINETY-NINE 



ELMSFORD, NEW YORK 
1900 



TWO COPIES HE.C£.iVEj3, 

Library of UCBgpe8% 
Office of tisv^ 

JAM 24 1900 

Reglttcr of Gop;rlgE^& 

a. Ob^-^ 



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Copyright, 1899, by 
J. C. L. HAMILTON 




Poverty and Patriotism of the 
Neutral Grounds. 

The Neutral Grounds, comprising all of the central 
towns and manors of Westchester County, sustained and 
endured more of the real hardships and calamities inci- 
dent to a long, relentless war than perhaps all other 
sections of similar dimensions combined. Its inhabitants, 
from the most reliable accounts, were nearly equally 
divided in their political affiliations. 

Those in affluent and comfortable circumstances, to a 
very large degree were Tories by choice, while the poor, 
who had long suffered the pangs of poverty and oppres- 
sion of tyranny, became Whigs of the most loyal type. 

History, in a general way, has made familiar the diverg- 
ing lines of loyalty to the King and liberty of the 
people. Only a brief reference can be made, upon an 
occasion commemorating the anniversary of the first 
real conflict at arms between the opposing forces upon 
the Neutral Grounds, of some of the causes that made 
poverty the corner-stone of patriotism. 

Adrian Van Der Donck, the first historian this New 
Netherland " which we have christened the Empire State " 
ever knew, dwelt within its borders. He was the true and 
tried friend of the first settlers, when the mismanagement 
of government and the obnoxious and avaricious plans of 
a grasping monopoly imposed burdens that doomed to a 
life of serfdom those who had longed for liberty in other 
lands. He interceded in their behalf, and became instru- 
mental in correcting the evils complained of. 

Government was reformed. Trade was fostered. Emi- 
gration was encouraged. Children from the overcrowded 
almshouse of Amsterdam were sent over, and a speedy 
shipment of others of like import was promised, along 

3' *^" 



with some of those sturdy agriculturists, called Boers, from 
the Rhine frontier, who were then seeking Hberty and 
freedom in remote lands, and whose descendants are now 
valiantly upholding their love of independence in the 
Orange Free State of South Africa. 

Thus we see a glad, eager multitude of the poorest of 
poor wending their way to these inviting wild, western 
shores. 

The names of some of them and their descendants who 
took up their abode upon these Neutral Grounds and 
dwelt among the original occupants of the soil have 
been rescued from the neglected and forgotten archives 
of two centuries of the past. This ancient official tax 
list* of the first white tillers of the soil clearly indicates 
that they were exceedingly economical as well as poor. 
The small amount of nine York pounds ($221^^) which 
these one hundred and eighteen inhabitants were required 
to pay upon their possessions, that comprised all of the 
present towns of Greenburgh, Mount Pleasant, and Os- 
sining, toward defraying their proportion of the public 
and necessary charges of the county of Westchester, in ac- 
cordance with the quota directed by the warrant of the su- 
pervisors for the upper part of the manor of Philipsburgh, 
cannot be called extravagant, no matter how generous 
or profligate the tax of $274,4491^^0 for the year 1898 for 
the same territory may appear. 

The official assessors, without favoritism, executed the 
law, which frequently required payments to be made 
upon the instalment plan, evidently for the purpose of 
allowing the cultivator of the soil to harvest and dispose 
of his various products. Unfortunately for him, however 
propitious the seasons, seed-time and harvest could not 
keep up in the unequal race. Before the eighth, ninth, and 
tenth instalment of a certain tax could be liquidated, the 
fourth, fifth, and sixth, and the first, second, and third, of 
other taxes became payable. They were levied ostensibly 
for the purpose of purchasing presents for the Indians, 
erecting forts upon the frontiers, and for the ever in- 
* See Appendix. 
4 



creasing expenses in support of government, at home and 
abroad, which were constantly augmented, in order to 
provide adequate positions with remunerative salaries to 
an army of itinerant seekers. 

The inhabitants of the towns and manors of West- 
chester County, as well as the isolated white settler resid- 
ing among the Indians at the close of the seventeenth 
century, were not overlooked, as the following receipts 
disclose : 

Received from John Cornelius Van Tesxell by the hands of Col. 
Stephen Van Cortlandt, the sum of Nine Pounds, out of the four first 
taxes, and of such proportion of the same as becomes payable out of 
Westchester County and Town of Appamacpo. 

I say received this 31st of July, 1694. 

Chidley Brook, Collector. 

Twenty-six days pass by, and the following becomes a 
matter of historic interest : 

Received from John Van Tesxell by the hands of Col. Stephen 
Van Cortlandt, the sum of Four Pounds ten shillings out of the six 
thousand pound tax, and of such proportion of the same as becomes 
payable out of Westchester County and Town of Appamacpo. 

I say received this 26th of August, 1694. 

Chidley Brook, Collector. 

No mention of the name or location of this Indian 
town has appeared in any history of this county yet pub- 
lished. The amounts forwarded to the colonial treas- 
urer indicate that a considerable number of white people 
were dwelling among the native Indians, and that they 
were prospering at that early period. 

From the most reliable information obtainable, the 
town of Appamacpo comprised what is now known as 
the town of Ossining. 

John Cornelius Van Tesxell, Senior, married about the 
year 1630 Cephani, an Indian princess of Eider's Neck, 
near Huntington, Long Island. 

Their son, John Cornelius Van Tesxell, Junior, was 
baptized in the Dutch Church within Fort Amsterdam, 
and afterward settled at what is now known as Sing 
Sing with his family, consisting of three sons and two 

5 



daughters, all of whom married in this county, and became 
members of the old Dutch Church at Sleepy Hollow. 

In the year 1705, their father having died, they made 
application and received from the colonial government 
a grant of land at Huntington, Long Island, four miles 
by six, in right of their grandmother, who had received 
the same through her tribal relations. The names of 
six of her descendants appear upon the tax-roll of 1732, 
and forty-six others are enrolled among the patriots of 
the Revolution. 

Colonel Stephen Van Cortlandt, lord of the adjoining 
manor of Cortlandt, obtained license to purchase lands 
from the Indians and others in the year 1677. He had 
secured at the date of his manor grant in 1697, 86,213 
acres, but had barely time to make any permanent ar- 
rangement for the development of these vast properties 
before all plans were set at naught by his death, which 
occurred in the year 1700, when this estate reverted in 
entail to his children, who by the terms of his will were 
required to pay his just debts and funeral expenses, 
amounting to about $5,000. This payment was no easy 
matter for them to make, as it took not only fifty-eight 
years, but a special act of the colonial legislature to 
legally accomplish it. The special act directed that suf- 
ficient property should be sold at public vendue at Kings- 
bridge to liquidate the debt. 

John Tompkins — a resident of the manor of Philips- 
burgh, who had erected, in 1732, his dwelling, which is 
still in existence, and which was used in the summer of 
1781 as the headquarters of General Rochambeau — be- 
came the purchaser. 

The indenture of agreement, bearing date of January 
31, 1758, between Pierre Van Cortlandt and John 
Tompkins, required the purchaser of real estate, in order 
to be able to receive a warranty deed, to be in actual 
possession for twelve months, for which period he was 
to pay, if legally demanded, one pepper-corn. The agree- 
ment describes the property purchased, which is still 
owned and occupied by Mr. Tompkins's descendants, the 

6 



legal title of which can, with the evidence here produced, 
be traced back to the original Indian proprietors. 

They can also admire on the Poverty Ridge of Philips- 
burgh that venerable and historic headquarters erected 
by their ancestor upon the farm, for which the lord of 
the manor of Philipsburgh gave the following receipt : 

Received this 3rd Feby 1737-8 of John Tomkins twelve bushels of 
wheat it being for a years rent due to me for the farm He lives on 

Fred Philipse. 

Captain John Harmse, an ofificer in the French colonial 
war, kept the first general store. The history of the 
quaint old building, still standing, and the many interest- 
ing scenes that have transpired there, are matters the in- 
mates of the palatial homes of the immediate vicinity 
know very little about. The following store account gives 
an accurate record of the prices and articles kept for sale 
at that period : 

1736 Den may mantHendrckWillse debt aen Jan harmse . £i\ o:0 

Ditto Voor Jacops Willse debt 2:2:o 

Ditto aen ein par Schonne voor u Self o: 7:0 

Ditto aen ein bossel tarwe 0:3:6 

Bitto aen Matthis Cancklin betalt ein galling Rom . . o: 3:6 

Ditto aen en par half soolen o; o:g 

Ditto aen 4 bossel bocquyt o: 6:0 

Ditto November aen gelt i:o:o 

1737 aen Jan Hughsen betalt O: 6:0 

voor ein par pomps 0:6:o 

Ditto aen 6% lb noil 0:9:9 

Ditto aen I >^ lb kaettoen 0:1:9 

Ditto aen Matthis Cancklin betault voor drank . . . . o: 2:9 

Ditto aen Noeg en ^ bossel tarwe 0:1:9 

Ditto aen Noeg ein bossel bocquyt voor salt o: 2:o 

Ditto aen Gelt noeg 2:iO:o 

Ditto aen Mr Gaberyel Ledelo betalt o:io:o 

Ditto aen noeg en Soeg gehuet voor o:io:o 

Ditto aen ein bossel Rocq o:02:6 

^9:19:3 
Ditto aen noeg ein par Sehonne voor u Self o:' 7:0 

Yan harmse 

Ditto woch meer vor dranck o: i:io 

7 



After Captain Harmse's death the farm and store came 
into the possession of Colonel Jonathan Odel, who kept 
a noted hostelry at the old stand during the Revolution- 
ary period. It was here the Committee of the Provincial 
Congress, when obliged to evacuate their quarters in the 
church in Harlem, remained over night and held a session 
of their committee October, 1776. 

Captain John Buckhout was Captain Harmse's neigh- 
bor, and also a captain in the French colonial war. He 
was too advanced in years to take an active part in the 
Revolution, and continued to reside upon his farm, now 
occupied in part by the Cosmopolitan Magazine, until his 
death, which occurred in the year 1785, as appears by the 
inscription upon his tombstone in the old Sleepy Hollow 
city of the dead, which reads as follows : 

In Memory of Cap 

lOHN BUCKHOUT, who 

Departed this life 

April the ioth 1785 Aged 

103 years and left behind 

HIM WHEN HE DIED 240 CHILd 

and grand children, also 

Mary the wife of Iohn Buct 

Died August 1755 Aged 

73 Years 

Joost Phauldench (Paulding), the ancestor of that noted 
and patriotic family who became heroes in the cause of 
liberty, was a merchant of New York City. He became 
a tenant upon Philip's manor about the year 1700, and 
was for a short period a member and officer of the Dutch 
Church, which he was obliged to relinquish on account 
of his business in New York. His son Joseph taking the 
farm, Mr, Paulding, having accumulated a considerable 
fortune in his various business relations, composed one 
of the syndicate of the twenty-four grantees of that large 
section which Judge Walters and Colonel Caleb Heath- 
coat obtained from the crown, situated in the northeast 
portion of the county and known as the Walters patent. 

The celebrated Flour Bolters' Trust having been re. 

8 



pealed by the legislature, permission to legalize and 
equip privateers to prey upon the commerce of the com- 
mon enemy gave renewed impetus for the investment of 
capital. Mr. Paulding, in connection with Captain Abra- 
ham Van Laer, a noted son of Neptune, residing in New 
York, fitted out a privateer sloop. 

Mr. Paulding's interest, by the terms of the written 
agreement, were to be represented by his special super- 
cargo, and required all captures and treasure trove to 
be taken to the nearest port and sold, the proceeds to 
be remitted immediately. 

The name given to this piratical rover of the seas was 

" The Wheel of Fortune." 

Time and space forbid a further review of those early 
pioneers whose descendants were about to usher in a 
new era of existence, the dormant energy of whose 
brawn and muscle could no longer endure the burdens 
and suffering that were imposed by unwise and vicious 
legislation that had overcrowded the gaols of the colony 
with insolvent debtors, many of whom, their families could 
no longer support, being destitute even of the common 
necessaries of life. 

When voluntary subscriptions from the charitable be- 
came inadequate to pay the fines imposed upon those 
confined for considerable amounts, a portion of the 
money so obtained was used to procure them wood to 
keep them from freezing. 

To such a fearful extent had this imprisonment for 
debt proceeded that the county officials took the precau- 
tion to employ a special guard around the court-house of 
thirteen men to prevent the public from making a threat- 
ened general gaol delivery. 

The legislature, finding the Insolvent Debtor Act 
passed in 1766 inadequate, passed an act on March 8, 
1773, requiring creditors who would not consent to dis- 
charge the debtor to pay to each prisoner so confined at 
their instance three shillings and sixpence per week, pay- 

9 



able to the prisoner, every Monday, so long as he, or she, 
shall continue in prison. 

This pittance of six cents per day must have been very 
generally paid by the creditor, as the legislators, instead 
of amending their slow starvation legislation, found it 
necessary to pass, during the following two years, fourteen 
similar acts of so-called relief. 

Thus we can begin to realize that poverty, pure and 
simple, was the impelling force that organized the Sons 
of Liberty, who, in 1766, were the first to demand, with 
their lives, the liberation of their countrymen. 

They were inured to privations and hardship, and were 
ripe for a rebellion that gave promise in the dim future 
of liberty and independence. Conventions were called, 
delegates were elected, resolutions were passed, and regi- 
ments and companies of armed men were recruited, as if 
by magic. The inmates of the patriot homes and fire- 
sides, scattered all over this beautiful county, scarcely 
realized that a war, such as they had never dreamed of, 
had already commenced. 

They had counted and nourished the legacy years of 
toil and poverty had bequeathed, and were determined, 
come what may, to cast their all in one grand effort to 
accomplish and conquer, while the lessons they had been 
taught by the light of the burning faggots in the great 
chimneys of their ancestors had prepared and qualified 
them for the supreme effort. 

The knell of liberty's bell had scarcely sounded the 
call to arms before the Mohawks, in their native disguise, 
cast the forbidden tea to the waters of an unfriendly 
port, and armed men everywhere stood ready to obey 
the mandates of the chosen leaders. This Empire State 
furnished upwards of 52,000 defenders. This county 
was divided into four districts, and the colonel of the 
regiment in each district was given almost unlimited 
jurisdiction in military matters. All male persons of 
from sixteen to sixty years of age were enrolled, who 
were required to serve when warned, under penalty of 
fine and imprisonment ; those incapacitated had to con- 

10 



tribute toward furnishing and equipping others in their 
stead with musket, blanket, powder-horn, flint, and fre- 
quently a tomahawk if required. They were called out 
when wanted, kept as long as wanted, and the soldiers 
then sent to their homes. 

Sometimes a regiment, or part of a regiment, would be 
ordered out half a dozen times in the course of a year, 
and for a few days or weeks at a time, as they were 
needed, while ofificers and men served indiscriminately in 
different organizations, as the urgency of the occasion 
demanded. The rapid organization of the troops into 
regiments and companies, which were armed and uni- 
formed with whatever could be obtained, and commanded 
by officers with very little or no experience, gave at the 
commencement of hostilities little, if any, promise of suc- 
cess. The want of drill and discipline, that the officers 
and men alike were deficient in, caused the militia to be 
looked upon as unreliable, especially as they had upon 
several occasions made precipitate retreats. 

General Washington, who had personally conducted 
the retreat from Long Island, witnessed their stampede 
through New York, and again upon the southern bound- 
ary of these soon to be Neutral Grounds. Upon this latter 
occasion he is said to have thrown his hat upon the 
ground and exclaimed : "Am I to fight the battles of my 
country with such men as those?" When they were again 
marshalled in battle array this historic county seat was 
the scene upon which the opposing forces met; and upon 
this 123d anniversary of that event I present to you for 
the first time a complete record of Captain Alexander 
Hamilton's battery of artillery,* that is said to have done 
efficient service upon yonder Chatterton Hill, and although 
the militia broke and ran away, the stubborn resistance of 
those engaged caused the British general to delay his 
plan of attack until the arrival of other troops, which 
delay gave General Washington opportunity to execute 
one of those strategic movements the successful execution 
of which placed him among the great generals of the age. 
*See Appendix. 
11 



It also caused the Parliament of Great Britain to ap- 
point a committee to investigate the conduct of General 
Howe and Lord Cornvvallis for their failure to capture 
.General Washington and his army, and thus terminate the 
rebellion of the colonies. 

This investigating committee, although conducted by 
that staunch friend of the colonies, Isaac Barr6, the former 
adjutant-general of General Wolfe, who had, on account of 
his distinguished services and wounds received upon the 
Plains of Abraham, been elected to a seat in Parliament, 
was unable, after the most searching examination, which 
lasted several days, to ascertain the real cause of their 
failure. General Howe, General Lord Cornwallis, and the 
chief engineer of the British forces all many times reit- 
erated that they had excellent reasons, which would, if 
made known, be satisfactory to the British public, but 
which each of them repeatedly declared he was not at 
liberty to disclose. 

Therefore, while future anniversary gatherings will con- 
tinue to study and admire the strategy displayed by the 
American commander-in-chief, they must be content with 
surmises and speculation for the unexplained reasons of 
his opponents. 

It must, however, have been very aggravating for the 
rank and file of the American army to have witnessed the 
pride of the British forces, in all their bright military 
array, form in battle upon the plain, and then quietly seat 
themselves upon the ground, while they observed the prog- 
ress of the action upon the adjoining hill. 

It was, no doubt, equally exasperating for the victors, 
elated by their previous successes, to learn that their com- 
mander had abandoned his plan of attack and was about 
to retrace his steps, leaving these intervening valleys and 
hills to become the Neutral Grounds, where tragic scenes 
of almost numberless combats made desolation everywhere 
the order by day, while the nights were illumined by the 
conflagrations of patriot and Tory homes. 

A guerrilla war, the like of which has never been fully 
understood, made heroes of those early defenders. They 

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who first ran upon the discharge of their own flintlocks 
now became the chosen guides and leaders of the most 
hazardous expeditions. 

Tories, emboldened by the successes of the British forces 
and encouraged by the promise of liberal pay, bounties, 
and reward, organized a troop of light horse, which was 
commanded by Colonel James DeLancy, former sheriff 
of the county. This troop, on account of their intimate 
knowledge of the highways and the location of the patri- 
ots, soon became a troublesome as well as formidable ad- 
versary. Their propensity to carry off everything portable, 
especially cattle, gave them the familiar name of " Cow- 
boys," on account of which Governor Tryon, command- 
ing the king's advanced outpost, encouraged this com- 
mand, composed of the elite of the county, for their 
spirited behavior by offering one guinea for each deserter 
brought in, and for every acting committeeman he was 
willing to pay twenty silver dollars. 

On the night of Monday, November 17, 1777, Captains 
Emmerrick and Barnes, of the Queen's Rangers of Gov- 
ernor Tryon's command, captured Lieutenant Cornelius 
Van Tassel and his kinsman, Peter Van Tassel, a member 
of the county committee, at their homes in the Neperan 
Valley. Upon this occasion they removed Mrs. Cornelius 
Van Tassel with her infant daughter, scantily clothed, and 
left them upon the frozen ground to care for themselves 
in the frigid cold as best they could. 

Cornelius Van Tassel, Jr., a noted marksman, had 
upon the first alarm taken refuge in the attic, but when 
the smoke and flames began to envelop him, he de- 
liberately assumed the roll of a marauder, by throwing 
a blanket over his head and seizing some household 
plunder, with which he marched in the midst of his en- 
emies, and at the first opportunity made a sudden dash 
toward the Sawmill River, eluding his pursuers by 
breaking a passage through the ice and rapidly proceed- 
ing to The Farcus Hott,* the patriots' place of retreat. 
The enemy, having collected all the Van Tassels' horses 
* See illustration. 
13 



and cattle, tied their hands to their horses' tails, and in 
this ignominious manner compelled them to drive their 
own cattle to the British camp at Kingsbridge, from 
which they were conveyed to prison, where they re- 
mained eleven months. Mrs. Van Tassel and her infant 
daughter, Leah, took refuge in a dirt cellar, it being the 
only place not destroyed. On the night of November 
25th, Abraham Martling, a continental soldier residing 
upon a portion of Lieutenant Van Tassel's farm, with a 
number of his neighbors, proceeded to Bloomingdale, 
within the British lines, and totally destroyed Governor 
DeLancy's residence in retaliation. 

So frequent and daring had the Cowboys become that 
bands of deserters and others composed of the worst 
characters of both armies set up an organized band to 
prey upon friends and foes alike, that were called " Skin- 
ners," and between these hostile forces the patriots soon 
had but little of worldly goods they could call their own. 

The latch-string of welcome had disappeared from 
their midst, while poverty at home, in the fields, camps, 
and everywhere almost quenched the flickering spark of 
liberty. 

This sad portrayal of privation, apparent in every por- 
tion of this neutral territory, gave the chief commissary, 
with the aid of the military authority to assist him, no 
end of trouble to secure barely enough subsistence to last 
from day to day, as appears by the following orders : 

Mr Ebenezer Boyd 

Sir I would have you go out in the country immediately, and 
secure all the salt provisions you hear of Press teams and send it 
down here Joshua Inmann has some beef in barrels, which you 
will order down immediately 

It must be down to day as we are out of provisions, and the stores 
at Danbury destroyed William Paulding 

Peekskill, April 27, 1777 

Mr. Boyd 

Sir You must send by the bearer the Five Barrels of Pork at 
your House I am sir yours, 

William Paulding 
Peekskill, April i^, 1777 

14 



Mr. Boyd 
Sir Please send by the bearer a load of Pork or Beef. 

William Paulding, C. 
Peekskill, April io\h ijyy 

Peekskill, May 5th 1777 
Received from Major Strang by the hands of Conrad Miller Seven 
Barrels of Pork and Beef. 

William Paulding, C. 

Received from Ebenezer Boyd 

One Skail Beam 

Two Weights Each 56 lbs 

Said to be the property of the Continent, taken from the estate of 
Nathaniel Merritt, for the use of William Pauldings Commissary 
Store. 

per Peter Garson, D. C. 

Peekskill, 22 December, 1776. 



But what did the patriot soldiers of the Neutral Grounds, 
who had become inured to hunger and privation of al- 
most every nature, care for a scarcity of pork and beef? 
They were minutemen, unwilling to relinquish one 
particle of their territory, who, when the charred remains 
of their former homes offered no shelter, sought the caves 
and rocks, from which, at a moment's notice, they sallied 
forth to engage in mortal combat, frequently with superior 
and well-equipped numbers. Many skirmishes, seldom 
officially reported, occurred that would have been classed 
genuine actions, and passed into history with equal promi- 
nence with others of less import occurring at the present 
time. 

There was at no period a cessation of hostilities upon 
these scarred battle-fields. The enemy was alert and 
frequently successful in destroying and capturing the 
magazines of stores and supplies secured at such great 
sacrifice by the patriots. 

Mr. Joseph Young, a prominent patriot, who resided on 
and occupied the farm adjoining that of Col. James Ham- 
mond, of the First Regiment, now belonging to the estate 

15 



of Mr. Robert Bonner, was early in 1776 appointed by the 
Provincial Congress one of the three commissioners to 
secure and remove all the hay, straw, cattle, and provi- 
sions in the lower portion of the county to Wright's Mills, 
the rendezvous selected at the north side of the present 
Kensico Lake. The inhabitants were permitted to r.etain 
a small supply for immediate consumption, and were 
given receipts for all other articles taken, which they could 
secure again from time to time as required. 

Upon the withdrawal of the American army at White 
Plains to the high grounds, General Lee, commanding the 
right wing, made his headquarters at Mr. Young's house, 
and it was from his division that Colonel Austin's Massa- 
chusetts troops made their midnight raid, and burned the 
court-house, Presbyterian church, and a few other build- 
ings situated between the former entrenched lines, and 
upon their return to camp plundered the houses of Mr. 
Martine and Pugsley of a large number of articles, the 
discovery of which in their possession caused the arrest 
and dismissal of the guilty parties, in obedience to a general 
order issued by General Washington, who confirmed the 
verdict of the court-martial held at Peekskill, of which 
General Pierre Van Courtlant was president. 

Mr. Young's location at the Four Corners, upon the 
lower cross roads, continued throughout the Revolution 
to be a very important military outpost upon the border 
of the Neutral Grounds and was the scene of a number of 
desperate encounters. During the winter of 1777 the 
dwelling was burned by the British in one of their raids. 
In 1778 Colonel Aaron Burr, who commanded on the lines, 
had his quarters here ; also, during the same year, General 
Thaddeus Kosciuszko. It was near these headquarters 
where General Gates and Colonel Wilkins, on September 
6, 1778, settled their affair of honor after exchanging 
two shots without bloodshed ; and it was also here, on 
February 3, 1780, that Colonel Norton, with a consider- 
able number of infantry and Colonel DeLancy's mounted 
Cowboys and refugees, after an all night's toilsome march 
through the snow, which was so deep that they were 

16 



obliged to abandon their improvised sleighs and artillery, 
succeeded in surprising Lieutenant-Colonel Thompson, 
commanding the post, before he could concentrate his 
small force of five companies, composed principally of 
Massachusetts troops, for effectual resistance. The Ameri- 
can loss in this action was eighty-nine privates and seven 
ofificers taken prisoners, fourteen killed, and seventeen 
wounded, several of whom died, and were buried in the 
adjoining field, opposite the ruins of the burned head- 
quarters. Their final resting place does not even boast 
of a simple tablet to designate a desperate and sangui- 
nary battle fought when the Neutral Grounds were buried 
under a deep mantle of snow. 

During the fall of 1780 General Stark gathered all the 
wagons that could be obtained in North Castle and sur- 
rounding country at the depot of supplies (Wright's 
Mills) for the purpose of making a grand forage, which 
was very successful, some of the mounted troops pene- 
trating as low down as East Chester, returning with a 
large quantity of corn, hay, cattle, etc. 

The enemy were, however, bent upon the same errand. 
On February ij, 1781, they made an extended excursion 
within the American lines toward Bedford, capturing 
Lieutenants Carpenter, Wright, and Peacock, with five 
other inhabitants, burned five dwellings, stripped several 
others of their belongings, and returned without mishap. 
Their excursions, as they were called, were, by the sys- 
tems of communication in use by the patriots, frequently 
rapidly communicated to the various patrols and guards. 
Abraham Odell, one of the most active and useful of the 
Westchester scouts and guides, during the daytime kept 
himself employed in his blacksmith shop, situated oppo- 
site his father's house on Broadway, a short distance 
below Irvington. He, being a personal acquaintance of 
Colonel DeLancy, had no difftculty in securing immunity 
from arrest by the British, especially as they made his 
shop a regular place for shoeing their horses, which gave 
him an excellent opportunity to ascertain from the private 
soldiers the intended destination of many of their raids. 

17 



By this means these excursions, as they were called, were 
frequently interrupted, while others became very san- 
guinary affairs. Jacob Acker, a noted marksman living 
in the Sawmill Valley, appears to have been seldom off 
duty. On the 17th of December, 1779, he was severely 
wounded in the chin, gullet, and right shoulder, and on 
May I, 1780, less than five months, was again wounded. 
At the action which occurred at Storm's Bridge (Elms- 
ford), where he was, as usual, upon picket duty, by his 
unerring aim two of the enemy, that were returning with 
a large quantity of cattle and plunder, were killed. The 
balance of the command, twenty-four in number, under 
Lieutenant Baremore, were taken prisoners, after a des- 
perate hand-to-hand struggle in the open fields directly 
east of the present Reform Church, by the patriot com- 
pany of that locality. 

The Neutral Grounds, above all others, could be relied 
upon to furnish patriots, with or without provision, and 
without pay or promise of reward, for instant action. 

In the fall of 1780 there appears to be very little, 
except poverty and. love of home and country, that 
sustained the soldiers of the republic. The terms of 
enlistment of a large number were rapidly expiring. 
Continental money had depreciated from 40 to 75, and 
finally it required $128 of the old to equal one of new 
emission. During the month of July five companies of 
the South Battalion, under command of Major Jonathan 
Paulding Horton, returned from a year's active service 
with the main army. 

While waiting at home for the State to procure the 
bounty of ten bushels of wheat for ninety days' service 
and one and one-half bushels per month for a longer 
period, in the absence of money, which would keep their 
families from absolute want, some of them voluntarily 
spent their brief vacation patrolling and guarding the 
highways, which resulted in the capture of Major John 
Andr6, and gave these Neutral Grounds the proud dis- 
tinction of producing the first medal of honor presented to 
soldiers of the republic. Three alone out of the seven 

18 



which composed this small band of patriots were awarded 
a medal inscribed " Fidelity " : 

John Paulding, 
Isaac Van Wart, 
David Williams, 
Isaac See, 
James Romer, 
John Yerks, 
John Dean, Sergeant. 

Note. — These captors, in accordance with an agreement, sold the watch, 
horse, saddle, and bridle taken from Major Andre and made equal division 
of the proceeds between the seven, after which they all contributed an 
equal amount toward defraying the expenses of one of their number to 
Philadelphia in order to lay the importance of the service rendered before 
Congress, with the expectation that all of them would be suitably rewarded. 
The member entrusted with this mission, after arrival in Philadelphia, 
came in contact with a member of Congress from the State of New Jersey, 
said to be not very friendly to the cause of independence, who, learning 
the particulars of the capture, advised that no mention of the four additional 
members should be made, for fear that Congress would refuse to grant any 
reward. 

The foregoing explains the bitter resentment and ill feeling toward, 
three of the captors that existed throughout the county during their remain- 
ing days. 

The patriotism of the army and the inhabitants all over 
the colonies at this trying period, when their finances and 
resources had become reduced to the lowest scale of 
poverty, quickly came to the rescue. The clouds that 
obscured their standard by united effort began to gradu- 
ally disappear, and once more the faint outlines of the 
rainbow of hope infused new life and energy among all 
classes. 

The organized efforts of the ladies and private indi- 
viduals were supplemented by renewed energy in the 
halls of Congress. The legislature of the Empire State, 
in lieu of money, gave wheat and vacant lands, and 
directed a tax of 2,400 pairs of good woollen stockings 
and 2,000 pairs of strong leather shoes to be levied for 
the use of its needy soldiery. The supervisors of West- 
chester County were directed to meet at the house of 

'9 



John Furman in Bedford (lieutenant in Colonel Louis Du- 
bois' Fifth Regiment of the line), and there apportion 
the quota among the towns of Poundridge, Salem, Bed- 
ford, North Castle, and the manor of Cortlandt. The 
balance of the county comprised the Neutral Grounds, 
where it was impossible for the civil authorities to exer- 
cise control. The assessors were directed to designate 
and apportion the quantities among those of the inhabi- 
tants who, in their judgment, could best spare or procure 
the same, allowing for each pair of shoes furnished six- 
teen shillings, and for every pair of stockings fourteen 
shillings. A forfeit of $io per pair, to be recovered in 
a summary manner before any justice of the peace, was 
provided for a refusal to furnish within thirty days after 
demand made by the various collectors. 
The apportionment to town of Poundridge, 6 pair slioes, 7 pair 

stockings. 
The apportionment to town of Salem, 9 pair shoes, 10 pair stock- 
ings. 
The apportionment to town of North Castle, 27 pair shoes, 33 pair 

stockings. 
The apportionment to town of Bedford, 23 pair shoes, 27 pair 

stockings. 
The apportionment to manor of Cortlandt, 39 pair shoes, 48 pair 
stockings. 

These timely efforts by the Empire State to provide and 
strengthen its military forces w^ere the all-important sub- 
jects under consideration by the various governors and 
legislatures of the confederation, who were urgently im- 
portuned and notified of the desperate situation. 

General Glover, on the nth of December, 1780, in- 
formed the Massachusetts authorities that four days had 
expired since their line of the army had even one mouth- 
ful of bread. " We have no money, nor will anybody trust 
us. The best of wheat is at this moment selling in the 
State of New York at three-fourths of a dollar per bushel, 
and your army is starving for want. 

"On the 1st of January something will turn up, if not 
speedily prevented, which your oflficers cannot be held 
responsible for." 

20 



The 1st of January, the New Year's Day of 1781, came, 
but brought no glad sound of joy, good cheer, or gladness 
to the starving soldier in the desolate camp. Its morn- 
ing, noon, and evening came and departed much the same 
as others— taps sound, lights are extinguished, Avhile the 
lonely sentinel continues to plod through the deep snow, 
keeping vigilant watch the same as other days and nights 
of the past. Suddenly, however, that something pre- 
dicted disturbs and alarms the entire camp at Morristown, 
New Jersey, as if caused by an earthquake. The rumbling 
noise of " mutiny in the American army " awakens the 
lethargy of Congress and the legislatures, grieves the com- 
mander-in-chief, encourages and delights the opponents of 
liberty, and becomes the all-absorbing topic in the camps, 
by the fireside of the patriots, and the closet of prayer. 

The Pennsylvania line, on account of the intolerable 
sufferings of the army, the want of pay — of which eleven 
months were due — the want of clothing — many of the 
troops being almost naked— the want of provisions, and 
the majority being held beyond the terms of their enlist- 
ment, mutinied, and, under the lead of their non-commis- 
sioned ol^cers, carried off the hors«s of their general, and 
with six field-pieces and their muskets proceeded to de- 
mand redress from Congress. The British authorities, 
learning their intentions, despatched troops to Staten 
Island and sent forward envoys, who offered, upon condi- 
tion that they come within their lines, to give them all 
arrearages of pay due and exemption from further mili- 
tary duty. 

These Pennsylvanians, however, though poor, ragged, 
and hungry, disdain to barter their longed-for liberty, but 
arrest, try, condemn, and hang without delay the envoys 
as spies, and proceed on their journey. President Reed, 
learning of the situation, soon arrived and quickly rem- 
edied the complaints, while troops were despatched over 
the mountains and through the deep snow from' West 
Point, which quieted the disaffected New Jersey troops, 
while General Putnam quelled a similar disturbance in the 
Connecticut line by appealing in a powerful address to 



their manhood and patriotism and for their wives and 
children in their desolate homes. 

Through all these thrilling scenes and sufferings the 
poverty and patriotism of the defenders of the Neutral 
Grounds continued without murmur or hesitation to re- 
main at the post of duty. 

The following muster roll of a company of the First 
Westchester County Regiment, which was originally com- 
manded by Captain Gilbert Deane, was ordered on active 
duty in Colonel Louis Dubois' Fifth Regiment of the line, 
under command of Captain Gabriel Requa. Its former 
headquarters was at Captain Requa's residence, which 
still remains at Pocantico Hills. The three justices of the 
peace who attached their signatures to the document 
declared it to be a true enrollment of Captain Gabriel 
Requa's company, composed of Whigs and Tories, the 
sick, lame, lazy, and distressed of sixteen years of age 
and upward. 

General Putnam reported that Colonel Dubois' regi- 
ment, to which this company was attached, was unfit to 
be ordered on duty, "there being not one blanket in the 
regiment ; very few have either a shoe or a shirt and most 
of them have neither stockings, breeches, nor overalls." * 

General Lafayette wrote that it takes citizens to sup- 
port hunger, nakedness, toil, and the total want of pay, 
which constitutes the condition of our soldiers — the 
hardiest and most patient that are to be found in the 
world. 

A general officer wrote that the army wants, above all, 
the true meaning of the words liberty, independence, etc., 
that the child may not make use of them against his 
father or the soldier against his officer. Notwithstanding 
this long array of trials and difficulties, active efforts were 
made for the approaching campaign of 1781, although it 
gave little promise of success, as scarcely one-eighth of the 
quota of troops promised had been furnished up to June 
1st. General Washington and staff, however, at a meeting 
with General Rochambeau at Weathersfield, on the 21st 

* See Appendix. 
22 



of May, arranged for the concentration of the allied armies 
upon the Neutral Grounds. This arrangement was made 
possible by the contribution of continental money con- 
tributed by the private soldiers to defray the general's 
expenses. At the hotel in Hartford, where he and stafT 
were sumptuously entertained over night, he was agree- 
ably surprised to learn that Governor Trumbull had di- 
rected all bills for his entertainment while in the State of 
Connecticut to be forwarded to him. 

Relief, however, soon appears and shattered hope re- 
vives, when the long-expected French allies set foot upon 
our shores, and orders were issued for the American army 
to meet and greet them upon the plateau of Philipsburgh. 
General William Heath, who arrived upon this Poverty 
Ridge of the Neutral Grounds on July 27th to take com- 
mand of the right wing of the American army, states that 
he found the position the American army now occupied 
was between the lines of the preceding campaigns at 
Philipsburgh. 

Consequently the roads and commons, as well as fields 
and pastures, were covered v/ith grass, while the many 
desolate houses and ruined fences depicted the horrid 
desolations of war. He reports that upon August 6th 
the army continued in the same position — the right 
wing commanded by himself; the left, by Major-General 
Lord Sterling. The advance of the American forces, 
under Colonel Scannel, on a height a little advanced of 
Dobb's Ferry, and Sheldon's dragoons near that village. 
The French army on one line on the left of the Ameri- 
cans, with their legion under the Duke de Luzun at White 
Plains, and General Waterbury with the militia toward 
New Rochelle. Here we find the unreliable militia of 
1776, the recognised veterans, occupying the posts of 
honor and danger, while the commander-in-chief quietly 
consummates his plans for the future campaign, and gave 
opportunity to become acquainted and make the best of 
the desolate surroundings, which were not entirely devoid 
of the little courtesies of life, although the poverty of the 
continent was so complete that General Washington was 

23 



obliged to obtain a loan of money from the French com- 
mander to pay his troops. 

While the American officers were powerless from the 
same causes to reciprocate the many compliments and 
feasts extended to them by their French allies, that 
patriot, General Baron Steuben, upon one occasion, it 
is stated, actually sold a portion of his camp equi- 
page in order to provide an entertainment for the officers 
of the French army, declaring that he would give one 
grand dinner, should he eat his soup with a wooden spoon 
forever after. These were pleasant days for the rank 
and file of the allied armies. No more appropriate camp 
could have been selected within these Neutral Grounds 
than the Poverty Ridge of Philipsburgh, centrally situ- 
ated, with commanding views in all directions ; it gave 
the commander-in-chief opportunity to consummate one 
of those famous strategic plans that made him first in war, 
first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen. 
These movements required that his adversary should 
speedily learn that the American forces proposed to 
remain and become the aggressors in this Empire State. 
Consequently redoubts were constructed and batteries 
placed in conspicuous places, while deceptive letters 
were written and forwarded by his trusted carriers and 
guides, to be purposely captured by the enemy. Five 
brick ovens were erected far in advance of the French 
camp instead of their rear, showing full well that their 
construction would be speedily communicated, by the 
system of wireless telegraphy then in vogue, to the British 
commander. General Washington, having completed his 
works which had deceived and prevented his adversary 
from leaving New York, communicated in confidence, on 
August 17th, his plans to his trusted general. Heath; 
and upon the 19th gave him minute written orders, 
entrusting the command of the main army to his watch- 
ful care, specifying the various regiments that were to 
remain, with explicit directions to dismantle and demolish 
the redoubt upon the east side of Dobb's Ferry, and trans- 
porting the platforms up the river. The block-house on 

24 



the other side, which, with the water guards, etc., that 
had been under the special command of Captain Pray, 
was to be retained or destroyed as he may think proper. 

Note. — Dobb's Ferry of the Revolution was a very important military 
post, consisting of some half-dozen dwellings. It contained one redoubt, 
mounted with two eighteen-pounders, and two small batteries, in addition to 
the redoubt upon the east side directed to be dismantled, the precise location 
of which has not been ascertained. It was named in the year 1723, by the 
lord of the manor, " New Wales," and was occupied by Thomas Hughson 
(alias the Earl of Warwick). Only a portion of one of the original dwellings 
now remains ; this was occupied previous to 1697 by Jan Heyert ; his 
daughter Rebecca being the first child baptized in the old Dutch Church 
at Sleepy Hollow, on April 21, 1697. He was living at the same place in 
1732, and upon his death it was occupied by Richard Dusenbury, who con- 
tinued to reside there until 1785, when the property was sold by the Com- 
missioners of Forfeiture, since which it has had various owners. It is now 
owned by Dr. Joseph Hasbrouck. 

It is now the hour of noon. The commander and staff 
leave their headquarters to the care of its former occu- 
pant. Lieutenant Joseph Appleby, and proceed to the 
camps, now all astir with bustle and activity, preparing to 
take up their line of march toward the ferries. The secret 
of their ultimate destination was unknown among them 
when their general delivers his final orders and sets his 
face once more toward his native State. Rapidly crossing 
New Jersey, the army made a brief rest near the identi- 
cal locality where the commander had discovered a large 
herd of emaciated cattle, interspersed with a goodly 
number of yearlings and calves. Upon learning from the 
contractors that they were destined to be converted into 
beef for the use of his army by the chief commissary, 
orders were issued upon the spot, directing that officer 
to kill only the largest and fattest of the herd, and turn 
the others out, as it was a shame to waste salt and bar- 
rels in trying to preserve the meat, which was already 
so tough his soldiers could not eat it. 

There were no political influences in that capital City 
of Brotherly Love, where Congress held sway. Who dare 
question the complete authority it had given the chief 
of the army, who, by his clear judgment, his silence under 

25 



difficulties, his heroic endurance, his calmness in the 
hour of danger or defeat, and, above all, his lofty and 
serene sense of duty that never swerved from its task 
through resentment or jealousy, that knew no aim, save 
that of guarding the freedom of his fellow countrymen, 
caused not only loyal Americans to cling to him with a 
trust and faith such as no other patriot has won', but 
gave to him that irresistible aid and love of the loyal 
American daughters of liberty, whose sentiments, labors, 
and achievements throughout the confederation of States, 
herewith published, brought joy and hope to these be- 
nighted Neutral Grounds and materially hastened the 
dawn of that preliminary peace that soon acknowledged 
without reserve the 

Independence of America. 



THE SENTIMENTS OF AN AMERICAN WOMAN. 

On the commencement of actual war the women of 
America manifested a firm resolution to contribute as 
much as could be expected of them to the deliverance of 
their country. Animated by the purest patriotism, they 
are sensible of sorrow at this day in not offering more 
than barren wishes for the success of so glorious a revo- 
lution. They aspire to render themselves more really 
useful ; and this sentiment is universal from the north to 
the south of the thirteen United States. Our ambition 
is kindled by the fame of those heroines of antiquity 
who have rendered their sex illustrious, and have proved 
to the universe, that, if the weakness of our constitution, 
if opinion and manners did not forbid us to march to 
glory by the same paths as the men, we should at least 
equal, and sometimes surpass, them in our love for the 
public good. I glory in all that which my sex has done 
great and commendable. I call to mind with enthusiasm 
and with admiration all those acts of courage, of con- 
stancy and patriotism, which history has transmitted to 

26 



us ; the people favored by heaven, preserved from de- 
struction by the virtues, the zeal, and resolution of Deb- 
orah, of Judith, of Esther; the fortitude of the mother 
of the Maccabees in giving up her sons to die before her 
eyes ; Rome saved from the fury of a victorious enemy 
by the efforts of Volumnia and other Roman ladies — so 
many famous sieges where the women have been seen 
forgetting the weakness of their sex ; building new walls ; 
digging trenches with their feeble hands; furnishing arms 
to their defenders, they themselves darting the missile 
weapons on the enemy ; resigning the ornaments of their 
apparel, and their fortune, to fill the public treasury, and 
to hasten the deliverance of their country ; burying them- 
selves under its ruins ; throwing themselves into the 
flames, rather than submit to disgrace or humiliation 
before a proud enemy. 

Born for liberty, disdaining to bear the irons of a tyran- 
nic government, we associate ourselves to the grandeur 
of those sovereigns, cherished and revered, who have held 
with so much splendor the sceptre of the greatest States ; 
the Batildas, the Elizabeths, the Maries, the Catharines, 
who have extended the empire of liberty, and contented 
to reign by sweetness and justice, and broken the chains 
of slavery forged by tyrants in the times of ignorance 
and barbarity. The Spanish women, do they not make, 
at this moment, the most patriotic sacrifices to increase 
the means of victory in the hands of their sovereign ? 
He is a friend to the French nation. They are our allies. 
We call to mind, doubly interested, that it was a French 
maid who kindled amongst her fellow-citizens the flame 
of patriotism, buried under long misfortunes. It was 
the Maid of Orleans who drove from the kingdom of 
France the ancestors of those same British whose odi- 
ous yoke we have just shaken off ; and whom it is necessary 
that we drive from this continent. 

But I must limit myself to the recollection of this smalt 
number of achievements. Who knows if persons dis-' 
posed to censure, and sometimes too severely with regard 
to us, may not disapprove our appearing acquainted even 

27 



with the actions of which our sex boasts? We are at 
least certain that he cannot be a good citizen who will 
not applaud our efforts for the relief of the armies which 
defend our lives, our possessions, our liberty. The situa- 
tion of our soldiery has been represented to me ; the evils 
inseparable from war, and the firm and generous spirit 
which has enabled them to support these. But it has 
been said that they may apprehend that, in the course 
of a long war, the view of their distresses may be lost, 
and their services be forgotten. Forgotten ! Never ! 
I can answer in the name of all my sex. Brave Ameri- 
cans, your disinterestedness, your courage, and your con- 
stancy will always be dear to America as long as she 
shall preserve her virtue. 

We know that, at a distance from the theatre of war, 
if we enjoy any tranquillity, it is the fruit of your watch- 
ing, your labors, your dangers. If I live happy in the 
midst of my family; if my husband cultivates his iield, 
and reaps his harvest in peace ; if, surrounded with my 
children, I myself nourish the youngest, and press it to 
my bosom, without being afraid of seeing m.yself sepa- 
rated from it by a ferocious enemy ; if the house in which 
we dwell, if our barns, our orchards are safe at the pres- 
ent time from the hands of those incendiaries, it is to 
you that we owe it. And shall we hesitate to evidence 
to you our gratitude ? Shall we hesitate to wear a cloth- 
ing more simple, hair-dresses less elegant, while at the 
price of this small privation we shall deserve your bene- 
dictions ? Who amongst us will not renounce with the 
highest pleasure those vain ornaments, when she shall 
consider that the valiant defenders of America will be 
able to draw some advantage from the money which she 
may have laid out in these ; that they will be better de- 
fended from the rigors of the seasons; that after their 
painful toils they will receive some extraordinary and 
unexpected relief; that these presents will perhaps be 
valued by them at a greater price when they will have 
it in their power to say : This is the offering of the Ladies ? 
The time is arrived to display the same sentiments which 

28 



animated us at the beginning of the Revolution, when 
we renounced the use of teas, however agreeable to our 
taste, rather than receive them from our persecutors ; 
when we made it appear to them that we placed former 
necessaries in the rank of superfluities when our liberty- 
was interested ; when our republican and laborious hands 
spun the flax, prepared the linen intended for the use of 
our soldiers ; when, exiles and fugitives, we supported 
with courage all the evils which are the concomitants of 
war. Let us not lose a moment ; let us be engaged to 
offer the homage of our gratitude at the altar of military- 
valor; and you, our brave deliverers, while mercenary- 
slaves combat to cause you to share with them the irons 
with which they are loaded, receive with a free hand 
our offering, the purest which can be presented to your 
virtue. 

An American Woman. 



IDEAS RELATIVE TO THE MANNER OF FORWARDING 
TO THE AMERICAN SOLDIERS THE PRESENTS OF 
THE AMERICAN WOMEN. 

All plans are eligible when doing good is the object ; 
there is, however, one more preferable ; and when the 
operation is extensive, we can not give it too much uni- 
formity. On the other side, the wants of our army do 
not permit the slowness of an ordinary pace. It is not 
in one month, nor in eight days, that we would relieve 
our soldiery. It is immediately ; and our impatience 
does not permit us to proceed by the long circuity of 
collectors, receivers, and treasurers. As my ideas in re- 
gard to this have been approved by some ladies of my 
friends, I will explain them here ; every other person 
will not be less at liberty to propose and to adopt a differ- 
ent plan. 

1st. All women and girls will be received, without ex- 
ception, to present their patriotic offering; and, as it is 
absolutely voluntary, every one will regulate it according 

29 



to her ability and her disposition. The shilling offered 
by the widow or the young girl will be received as well 
as the most considerable sums presented by the women 
who have the happiness to join to their patriotism greater 
means to be useful. 

2d. A lady chosen by the others in each county shall 
be the Treasuress ; and to render her task more simple, 
and more easy, she will not receive but determinate sums, 
in a round number, from twenty hard dollars to any 
greater sum. The exchange forty dollars in paper for 
one dollar in specie. 

It is hoped that there will not be one woman who will 
not with pleasure charge herself with the embarrassment 
which will attend so honorable an operation. 

3d. The women who shall not be in a condition to send 
twenty dollars in specie, or above, will join in as great a 
number as will be necessary to make this or any greater 
sum, and one amongst them will carry it, or cause it to 
be sent, to the Treasuress. 

4th. The Treasuress of the county will receive the 
money, and will keep a register, writing the sums in her 
book, and causing it to be signed at the side of the whole 
by the person who has presented it. 

5th. When several women shall join together to make 
a total sum of twenty dollars or more, she amongst them 
who shall have the charge to carry it to the Treasuress 
will make mention of all their names on the register, if her 
associates shall have so directed her ; those whose choice 
it shall be v.'ill have the liberty to remain unknown. 

6th. As soon as the Treasuress of the county shall 
judge that the sums which she shall have received de- 
serve to be sent to their destination, she will cause them 
to be presented, with the lists, to the wife of the Governor 
or President of the State, who will be the Treasuress- 
General of the State; and she will cause it to be set 
down in her register, and have it sent to Mistress Wash- 
ington, If the Governor or President is unmarried, all 
will address themselves to the wife of the Vice-President, 
if there is one, or of the Chief-Justice, etc. 

30 



7th. Women settled in the distant parts of the country, 
and not choosing for any particular reason, as for the sake 
of greater expedition, to remit their capital to the Treas- 
uress, may send it directly to the wife of the Governor, 
or President, etc., or to Mistress Washington, who, if she 
shall judge necessary, will in a short answer to the sender 
acquaint her with the reception of it. 

8th. As Mrs. Washington may be absent from the 
camp when the greater part of the banks shall be sent 
there, the American women, considering that General 
Washington is the father and friend of the soldiery; that 
he is himself the first soldier of the Republic, and that 
their offering will be received at its destination as soon as 
it shall have come to his hands, they will pray him to take 
charge of receiving it, in the absence of Mrs. Washington. 

9th. General Washington will dispose of this sum in 
the manner that he shall judge most advantageous to the 
soldiery. The American women desire only that it may 
not be considered as to be employed to procure to the 
army the objects of subsistence, arms, or clothing, which 
are due to them by the continent. It is an extraordinary 
bounty, intended to render the condition of the soldier 
more pleasant, and not to hold place of the things which 
they ought to receive from the Congress, or from the 
States. 

loth. If the General judges necessary, he will publish 
at the end of a certain time an account of that which 
shall have been received from each particular State. 

nth. The women who shall send their offerings will 
have in their choice to conceal or to give their names ; 
and if it shall be thought proper, on a fit occasion, to 
publish one day the lists, they only who shall consent 
shall be named ; when with regard to the sums sent, 
there will be no mention made if they so desire it. 

The American Daughters of Liberty were organized 
at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, June 22, 1780, in conse- 
quence of the publication of the " Sentiments of an 
American Woman." 

31 



The Philadelphia branch appointed committees to 
make a house-to-house canvass in every ward of that city 
to solicit contributions, with which they purchased mate- 
rials and made 2,030 shirts. The society in New Jersey 
made 70 shirts and knit 380 pairs of stockings, all of which 
first contribution was delivered to a special ofificer sent 
by General Washington to receive them, and who delivered 
General Washington's letter of thanks to the ladies, 
dated December 26, 1780. 



32 



APPENDIX. 

Westchester County, 

State of New York. 

Permit the bearers hereof ABRAHAM ACKER & JOHN BUCK- 
HOUT, to pass to their homes at or near Tarrytown on Phillips 
Manor. The above Abraham Acker I recommend to be a rail 
frind to the Independence of America likewise by the best accounts 
the aforesaid Buckhout. 

Given under my hand this sixth day of Febuary, 1783, at Peeks- 
kill per me 

John Van Tassel, 

Justice of the Peace. 



PAY BOOK 

OF 

THE STATE COMPANY OF ARTILLERY, 

COMMANDED BY ALEXANDER HAMILTON. 



Alexander Hamilton, Captain. 
James Moore, Captain Lieutenant. 
James Gilliland, First Lieutenant. 
John Bane, Second Lieutenant. 
Thomas Thompson, Third Lieutenant. 
Samuel Smith, Sergeant. 
Richard Taylor, Sergeant. 
James Deasy, Sergeant. 
Robert Barber, Corporal. 
James Stakes, Corporal. 
Martin Johnson, Corporal. 
Thomas Lewis, Bombardier. 

33 



L«fa 



Lawrence Barry, Bombardier.' 
Isaac Sayers, Bombardier. 
Martin Lauler, Bombardier. 
Joseph Peach, Bombardier. 
Samuel Thurston, Bombardier. 
Thomas Taylor, Gunner. 
Joseph Haight, Gunner. 
Aris Remsen, Gunner. 
Jacob King, Drummer. 
Adam King, Drummer. 
Christopher Putt, Fifer. 
James Galloway, Fifer. 
Robert Burrage, Motross.* 
Michael Bowers, Motross. 
John Burnside, Motross. 
Uriah Crawford, Motross. 
Thomas Ryan, Motross. 
John Martin, Motross. 
Matthew O'Harro, Motross. 
James Forbes, Motross. 
David Miller, Motross. 
Aaron Robins, Motross. 
William Van Lile, Motross. 
William Hackett, Motross. 
James Bradley, Motross. 
Elisha Shell, Motross. 
Hugh Cameron, Barber. 
William Higgins, Motross. 
David Johnson, Motross. 
James Mootry, Motross. 
John Heyer, Motross. 
John Davis, Motross. 
James McGeers, Motross. 
James McGee, Motross. 
Thomas Delanoy, Motross. 
James Swan, Motross. 
John Hervey, Motross. 
John Wood, Motross. 
Henry Dely, Motross. 
John Peling, Motross. 
George Garland, Motross, 
John Griffiths, Motross. 
Thomas Harwood, Motross. 
Isaac Johnson, Motross. 

* Assistant to a gunner. 
34 



William Lockhart, Motross. 

John Hammond, Motross. 

Joseph Mason, Motross. 

Stephen Morris, Motross. 

Thomas Stratford, Motross. 

Gilbert Wood, Motross. 

Christopher Brangen, Motross. 

Robert Higgins, Motross. 

Andrew 'Westerfield, Motross. 

Bernard Hudson^ Motross. 

Robert Graham, Motross. 

Henry McDermot, Motross. 

William Scott, Motross. 

Robert Cunningham, Motross. 

Michael Fortisque Higginson, Motross. 

John Mays, Motross. 

Patrick Kelly, Motross. 

John Cockran, Motross. 

Joseph Boice, Motross. 

Elijah Sherwood, Motross. 

Farrel Sommers, Motross. 

Donald McLean, Motross. 

John Kelly, Motross. 

John Lilly, Motross. 

Richard Kitchen, Motross. 

William Sharpe, Motross. 

Alexander Matthey, Motross. 

Joseph Compton, Motross. 

Peter Cavalier, Motross. 

Cornelius Ouackenbos, Motross. 

Daniel Halstead, Motross. 

John Brown, Motross. 

MORINUS Van Winkle, Motross. 

Thomas Dunn, Motross. 

Samuel Sealy, Motross. 

Hugh McEun, Motross. 

John Stanton, Motross. 

Robert Brown, Motross. 

James Watson, Motross. 

James Higgins, Motross. 



New York, August jist, iTj6. 



35 



ENROLLMENT OF CAPTAIN GABRIEL RE- 
QUAW'S COMPANY OF THE SOUTH 
BATTALION OF THE FIRST REGIMENT 
OF WESTCHESTER COUNTY MILITIA. 

James Hammond, Colonel. 
Jonathan P. Horton, Major. 
Gabriel Requaw, Captain. 
William Veal, Lieutenant. 
John Dean, Sergeant. 
John Helker, Sergeant. 



Joseph Requaw. 
Benj. Oakley. 
Elija Leggett. 
William Fosha, Sen. 
James Fosha. 
Peter Fosha. 
Nicolas Cooper, 
Simon Sharpanat. 
Daniel Requaw. 
Abraham Requaw. 
John Requaw. 
Asm. Van Tassel. 
William Davids. 
Jacob Van Wart. 
Abraham Delanoy. 
Cornelius Joons. 
Abm Devoe. 
John Devoe. 
Ned Bugbee. 
Ram Vanfore. 
Harma Williams. 
Isaac Hammon. 
Undrel Lynch. 
Jonothan Lynch. 
Thomas Uphra. 
James Hammon. 
John Ackerman. 
Tunis Cusser, Sen. 



Tunis Cusser, Jun. 
Dan Darbesshee. 
WiLHAM Waterman. 
William Tomkins. 
Hendrick Banker. 
Abosolom Merot. 
John Williams. 
Neremiah Baker. 
Jeremiah Baker. 
Jonothan Baker, 
Isaac See. 
David Fowler. 
Henry Crawford. 
Mathew Brower. 
Lewis Apoine. 
Josh Hatful. 
James See. 
Peter See. 
John See. 
John Sifer. 
John Forsha. 
Abraham See. 
Miles Oakley. 
Jonothan Clark. 
Samuel Purdy. 
Joseph Maybee. 
John Hall, 
Myers Hall. 



36 



Gores Storms. 
Lewis Sniffin. 
Andrew Champenois. 
Thomas Polden. 
John Stoorms. 
David Davis. 
Gilbert Horton. 
Caleb Horton. 
John Horton. 
Gabriel Macfarden. 
James Macfarden. 
Aaron Bise. 
William Fields. 
Asa Read. 
John Hammon, Sen. 
Stephen Williams. 
Jacob Stimets. 
Thomas Champenois. 



Samuel Fisher. 
JooATHAN Polden, Sen. 
John Yerks, Sen. 
William Yerks. 
John Yerks. 
James Yerks. 
Abraham Sifer. 
Jacob Brower. 
John Britt. 
William Britt. 
Caleb Oakley, Sen. 
Joseph Conklin. 
Richard Peacock. 
Thomas Dean, 

one of the Justices of the Peace. 
James Requa, 

one of the Justices of the Peace. 



A true Return of Capt. Requa's Company, Wigs, Torys, Sick, 
Lame, Lasy and Detrest from the age of sixteen and upwards. 



37 



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